She may perform fearlessly, but Broadway star Audra McDonald tells us which party decoration freaks her right out … Thomas Jefferson (well, scholar and radio host Clay Jenkinson channeling Thomas Jefferson) expounds on patriotic decorum … Get ready, people, for a playlist from indie-supergroup People Get Ready … A scoop of new Spoon … Blankets that broadcast your mood to fellow flyers … One man’s vendetta against disco … The national pride of eating sheep innards stuffed in a stomach and stabbed with a knife … Reuniting a musician with his only recording … And avoiding scams with Priceonomics.

Brooklyn band People Get Ready create electronic pop that, while it stands alone on record, is composed with choreography in mind. The playlist they provide this week may itself inspire a bit of dancing.

Historian Clay Jenkinson hosts the The Thomas Jefferson Hour, in which answers questions in the character of Thomas Jefferson. He takes on the persona for us to answer modern etiquette questions with Jeffersonian reason.

Actress and singer Audra McDonald is among the brightest Broadway stars of a generation. In "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill," she depicts a weary, addiction-addled, yet nonetheless tremendously gifted, Billie Holiday, giving one of the final performances of her life.

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Welcome to the first episode of "Speakeasy," an occasional special podcast in which we share never-before-heard bits that that didn't make it into our weekly episodes. Think of it like the casual little bistro beside our bustling restaurant. On this inaugural podcast, Aubrey Plaza and Brendan invent a new morning beverage - the breakfast martini; Zachary Quinto and Rico discuss the pros and cons of wearing high heels; and Tom Scharpling and Jon Wurster of "The Best Show" propose a novel solution for when you pick up two lids instead of one at a salsa bar. Brendan and Rico also chitchat about upcoming guests, life, and the darkness in men's souls. You know, just light banter.

Actress Aubrey Plaza needs no introduction (because she's got it memorized)... Singer-songwriter Laura Marling has a soundtrack for evenings warm and chilly... Writer Jon Ronson looks at shaming on social media and sees our modern pillory... The comic duo Scharpling & Wurster take our etiquette segment to the strangest of places, which might be a city in Pennsylvania!... A new taste of Hawaiian food -- the ultimate fusion cuisine... Two bitter rivals in polar exploration inspire an icy cocktail...Essayist Meghan Daum ponies up a joke... And more.